Deconstructing virginity - young people's accounts of first sex

Dados Bibliográficos

ID23347403
AutoresJanet Holland (London South Bank University), Caroline Ramazanoglu (Goldsmiths University of London), Sue Sharpe (0009-0003-1571-0064, University of London), Rachel Thomson (0000-0002-3955-5818, London South Bank University)
Ano2000
Volume15
Fascículo3
Páginas221-232
Data de publicação2000-08-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoSexual and Relationship Therapy (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1468-1994 • E-ISSN: 1468-1749
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14681990050109827
OpenAlexW2001084883
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas57
Referências citadas5

In their first (hetero)sexual experience, young people are enticed into the gendered practices, meanings and power relations of heterosexuality. This paper draws on findings from two primarily qualitative studies of young people's sexual practices and understandings: the Women, Risk and AIDS Project and the Men, Risk and AIDS Project. The paper suggest that for young men, first (hetero)sex is an empowering moment through which agency and identity are confirmed. For young women the moment of first (hetero)sex is more complicated, and their ambivalent responses to it are primarily concerned with managing loss. By exploring and contrasting young people's accounts of their first sexual experiences and the meanings that virginity hold for them, the paper reveals the asymmetry of desire, agency and control within (hetero)sex. The paper concludes by considering the implication of these findings for practice.

Agency (philosophy) · Ambivalence · Developmental psychology · Heterosexuality · Human sexuality · Identity (music) · Power (physics) · Psychosexual development · Sociology · Virginity test · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Gender Studies · Psychology · Sex work and related issues · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology · Social Psychology